What are the best free web scraping tools?

Are you looking for free solutions for collecting data from web pages? You've come to the right place! In this article, we'll introduce you to the best free web scraping tools.

On the agenda: the different types of tools, the strengths of each, but also their limitations! Here is a small table to help you see and compare free services of web scraping.

1. Cloud software and applications (Freemium)

Bright Data

Bright Data is a platform specializing in web scraping. It is known for its robust proxy infrastructure that allows you to circumvent IP restrictions to extract data in bulk. 

This is the perfect solution for companies and developers who have complex scraping requirements.

✅ Bright Data offers a free trial period, ideal for those who want to try before they commit.

❌ The service is primarily paid, and the free plan is very limited in terms of functionality.

Octoparse

This web scraping platform stands out for its intuitive user interface point-and-click type. This will allow you to scrape pages—even the most complex ones—without needing to code.

✅ Octoparse is ideal for beginners and non-codersYou can scrape complex websites with just one click!

❌ The free version is limited to 10,000 records per task.

2. Browser extensions

Web Scraper.io

Web Scraper.io is a web scraping extension simple tool that allows data to be collected directly from your web browser.

✅ The extension is very easy to useYou can install it in just a few clicks and start scraping right away.

❌ Some advanced features (cloud, rotating IPs) require a paid subscription.

NoCoding Data Scraper

NoCoding Data Scraper stands out for its ease of use. This is the ideal scraping extension for simple, one-off projects. You can quickly collect data without coding.

✅ This extension does not require no complex installationYou won't need any programming knowledge to use it!

❌ She does not manage complex sites, particularly those using JavaScript or requiring authentication.

3. Code libraries (for coders)

the web scraping with Python is a powerful solution if you are comfortable with code.

Here are two popular libraries to get you started:

BeautifulSoup (Python)

BeautifulSoup is a Python library used to extract data from HTML and XML documents. the scraping with BeautifulSoup is ideal for beginners who want to learn this practice.

✅ BeautifulSoup is a scraping solution that is both flexible, free, and open-sourceIt is really effective for HTML/XML pages.

❌ You must use another library (such as requests) to download the content of a page. In addition, BeautifulSoup does not support JavaScript.

Scrapy (Python)

Scrapy is a complete Python framework for web scraping. It is designed for large scraping projects thanks to more advanced features.

✅ With Scrapy, you can manage and collect large amounts of data. It is the ideal solution for large-scale projects.

❌ Learning it requires a good command of the code.

How can you perform web scraping for free without code?

Not familiar with programming? With extensions, you can scraper without code and free of charge. We will explain step by step how to do it!

Step 1: Installation and configuration

• 👉 Go to Chrome Web Store to download the extension
• 👉 Click on the "Add to Chrome" to install it

Next, to use the extension, you must open it from the development tools from your browser:

• 👉 Go to the page you want to scrape and right-click
• 👉 Select "Inspect" all the way down

A new window will open with the developer tools. You will find the "Web Scraper" tab by clicking on the three small dots (or arrow) in the top right corner.

Step 2: Plan the Sitemap

• 👉 Once in the "Web Scraper" tab, click on "Create new sitemap"
• 👉 Give your sitemap a name
• 👉 Then in the field "Start URL", paste thepage address where you want to start scraping

The sitemap is a key element of web scraping, as it is the roadmap which tells the extension how to navigate the site and what data to extract.

Step 3: Select the data

This step consists of designate the elements you want to harvest. To do this:

• 👉 Click on "Add new selector" (Add a selector)
• 👉 Give your selector a clear name, such as "title," "product," or "price."
• 👉 Click on the "Select" button
• 👉 Then select all the items that interest you.
• 👉 To extract a URL, image, or text, make sure to check the "Link," "Image," or "Text" boxes.
• 👉 Click on "Finished selecting" (Finish selection), then "Save selector" (Save)

Repeat this process for each type of data you want to extract (price, description, reviews, etc.).

Step 4: Start scraping

Once your sitemap is ready, you can finally start scraping !

• 👉 In your sitemap menu, click on the"Scrape" tab
• 👉 Click on the "Start scraping" (Start scraping)

A new pop-up window will open. There you can follow the scraping process : the extension will automatically browse the pages and extract the data.

The duration of the scraping process depends entirely on the amount of data to be extracted.

Step 5: Export the data

Once the scraping is complete, all you have to do is retrieve your valuable data.

• 👉 Return to the "Sitemap" tab.
• 👉 Click on the tab "Export data" (Export data)
• 👉 Choose the format that suits you (CSV, JSON, or Excel)
• 👉 Then click on "Download" (Download)

The data will be saved on your computer, ready to use.

Why do web scraping for free?

Free web scraping is an attractive option for small-scale or experimental projects. For example, you can do web scraping for free For :

• 👉 Learning and experimentation: to familiarize yourself with web scraping before moving on to more complex solutions
• 👉 One-off or small-scale projects: for limited purposes, such as gathering information for market research
• 👉 Testing a hypothesis or concept: to test ideas quickly without paying
• 👉 Evaluate a tool: to test the tool you are interested in before taking out a paid subscription
• 👉 Limited volume requirements: if you have a small amount of data to extract

FAQs

Is web scraping legal?

The legality of web scraping is a complex subject. Scraping is legal if you collect public data. On the contrary, private data cannot be scraped. Otherwise, it is also illegal to:

• ❌ bypass security systems,
• ❌ infringe copyright,
• ❌ Use invasive scraping techniques.

Remember to always check the robots.txt file and the game's terms of use of the site before scraping.

Can web scraping be performed on any website?

❌ No, it is not always possible.

Some websites use JavaScript to dynamically load content or authentication systems to limit access. We tell you more in our article on the web scraping in JavaScript.

Otherwise, other sites have bot protection such as CAPTCHAs, which make scraping difficult or even impossible.

What is a proxy in web scraping and is it necessary?

A proxy is a intermediate IP address which is used to hide your real IP address.

Proxies allow you to automatically change IP address and simulate human browsing. This will allow you to bypass blocks and restrictions.

As such, proxies are essential if you collect large amounts of data.

How can I avoid being blocked by a website?

Here are a few practical tips To avoid being blocked when performing web scraping:

• 📌 Use a Realistic User-Agent so that your scraping resembles human behavior.
• 📌 Add intervals between requests to avoid overloading the server.
• 📌 Use proxies so as not to be detected by the site you are scraping.

How long does it take to learn web scraping?

It all depends on thescraping tool you're interested in.

✅ For example, for no-code tools (such as extensions), it only takes a few hours to master the features and start scraping.

✅ Conversely, it can sometimes take days or even weeks to master libraries such as ScrapyThis can take even longer in the case of complex projects!

As you can see, these are not the right ones. free web scraping tools that are missing. All you have to do is choose according to your needs and/or scraping projects!

Do you know any others? free tools which are worth visiting? Tell us everything in the comments!